Jack's Diary
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: This is a glimpse into Jack's diary in the run up to Christmas! Contains, lots of light fluffy Janto-ness.
1. Monday 1st December

**Title: Jack's Diary**

**Summary: This is what Jack might write in his diary in the run up till Christmas! Light, fluffy and Janto. ;)**

**Author's Note: This is part of the Advent Challenge 2008. For more information please look on my profile page, under forums. Or follow the link to my Bebo. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Torchwood. _**

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Monday 1st December

There's just something special about the first of December. There's a good feeling about it that makes you feel happy. Maybe it's the fact that the Christmas lights that have been up in shops since mid-November suddenly seem right. Maybe it's the promise of happiness and good feeling in the air. Maybe it's feeling a peace with the world. I don't know but whatever it is I like it.

When everyone walked into the Hub today and even Owen was cheerful! It makes a nice change when your team are happy with things. But of course, aliens don't stop for Christmas so we were still as busy as ever. Firstly I found a list of unanswered calls on my answer phone. U.N.I.T were on the warpath about something that Torchwood had apparently hidden from them. The police were moaning that we'd taken over a case and not actually found the killer. Seriously, don't they understand that there is no killer when the victim accidentally killed himself using alien technology? Honestly.

I had to chase Owen up for reports that have been due since last December and he seemed increasingly reluctant to take pen to paper. Tosh's computer suffered a system failure and we had to wait a good few hours before that came back up and that set us back in the day's plans. Within hours we were all tired and fed up. It no longer felt like December; it was just another time of the year now. Work can be a bitch I suppose.

I thought I better go and boost team morale so I wandered through to Ianto in the kitchen. "Hey Yan," I said by means of greeting. He turned around and smiled slightly. I love the way his face looks when he smiles. Come to think of it, I love everything that man does but that's another matter.

"Hello," he said as he poured five steaming mugs of coffee. He really is brilliant with the coffee. Torchwood would be nowhere without the miracle that is Ianto Jones and his coffee machine.

"Jack!" came Tosh's shout. I groaned and Ianto just smiled, "Stray Weevil on the streets!"

Seriously, give me a break!


	2. Tuesday 2nd December

_**Tuesday 2**__**nd**__** December**_

Yesterday's Weevil hunt was harder than we'd first anticipated. We chased it down the street in the SUV and Owen nearly drove straight into a lorry. Hell, if it were me driving nothing like that would have happened. I told Owen as much but he didn't take it very well.

He said, "If it as you, we'd be clinging to the edges of our seats scared to death because you drive like you're on drugs, Harkness." Nice, huh? There's nothing wrong with a little bit of the scare factor to get you ready for Weevil chasing. He's one to talk though, it's not like nearly crashing into a lorry isn't going to scare the passengers!

Anyway, my driving isn't that bad! I think I do it pretty well for not having actually had the whole driving test thing in the twenty first century. I never get pulled over by the cops anyway so what does it matter? Besides, I do have a licence. How, you ask? Now that would be telling.

Back to the Weevil story. We drove on and came to a halt beside the supermarket only to find the Weevil was wrecking havoc in the car park - as you do. So I ran over with my gun out and all and then someone screamed. An unbelievably attractive man comes running towards you to save your life and you scream at him? How's that for appreciation. Well, maybe it was the fact I had a gun. Still, an unbelievably attractive man-

Yeah, so I aimed the gun at the Weevil and it kinda looked at me like I'd grown three heads. Owen zapped it with the Weevil Spray. Simple you might think but nothing's ever simple in this job. Next think I know is being on my back on the ground with a Weevil on top of me tearing at any part of me it could get. Not that that's a new experience but still. And before you ask, it was _not_ a sexual moment in the slightest. Me and a Weevil? What kind of guy d'you think I am? Actually, don't answer that.

I vaguely remember Ianto running over with a ladies cheap Tesco Value frying pan and smacking the Weevil over the head before I passed out. Nice one Yan.


	3. Wednesday 3rd December

_**Wednesday 3**__**rd**__** December**_

The arrival of the Christmas music is becoming more noticeable now. Gwen turned up at work with a CD of "Christmas Favourites" and insisted we played it today while we were doing next to nothing. I mean seriously, one day you're too busy to breathe and the next you're sitting around bored out of your mind. Oh well, the CD gave us something to do.

Actually, we had a little bit of a party with it. We were all doing paper work when suddenly Owen burst into song in the middle of _I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday_. Owen's not usually one to embrace the tradition of jumping around singing about Santa Claus but he did today. I thought it was a bit weird and I asked Gwen what was going on but she just smiled at me in a really irritating way that told me she knew something I didn't.

_Then _a few tracks later, Ianto jumped up and started singing along to _Santa Baby_ and I was unbelievable confused but it really was amusing. Hell, if he wanted me to dress up as Santa he only had to ask. Hmm, maybe that's an idea for later on. I'll have to remember that…

Before I knew it, Owen was singing again and I was beginning to think I was dreaming. Seriously, it's not everyday Owen jumps up on a table and starts singing _We Wish You A Merry Christmas_. Tosh filmed it. I'm guessing there'll be printouts on the walls before the week is out.

Within half an hour Ianto was dancing on a chair wearing tinsel around his waist. Gwen elbowed me in the ribs and told me off for staring at him with that look on my face. Typical. Can't I be allowed a moment just to- Er. Yeah.

Owen tried again but in the middle of his third song he jumped off the table announcing that he couldn't do it anymore. Ianto was ecstatic. It was quite funny to watch actually and really quite hot. It turned out that Owen and Ianto had a bet on who'd pay for the first round of drinks at the Torchwood Christmas night out. Well, at least it's not going to be me.


	4. Thursday 4th December

**Author's Note: I'm really sorry I didn't update this yesterday - it was my Parent's Night and I couldn't get on the laptop. Sorry! You'll get two updates today though. Think of it like this - you forget to eat the chocolate out of one day in your advent calender. Just imagine the happiness you feel the next day when you get two chocolates. _

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_**Thursday 4th**__** December**_

Well yesterday was a bit strange by anyone's standards I guess. I mean, the whole Owen/Ianto singing competition was pretty funny. And to think they're already deciding where to go on our Christmas night out shows how much it features in their minds - especially as it's a few weeks until the event. Today wasn't much different in terms of the amount of work we did today. To be honest, I was bored by lunch time and was left to fantasise about the fact that it's Thursday and nearly the weekend. Weekends signify a different sort of busy all together, if you get my drift.

Today, as I'd expected, there were pictures of Owen and Yan's venture into singing. Some of them are hilarious and they're _everywhere_. I've made sure I have a couple in my office and I'm finding them greatly entertaining when paper work becomes too much. Owen got a bit annoyed later on and he tried to destroy all evidence of his little sing-song. Of course, how could I let him away with that? Owen Harper found himself stuck with an enormous amount of overdue paperwork while I laughed at the photos and Tosh's video. She's already uploading the video as the new Hub computer screen saver. Heh.

So anyway, today I decided it was about time I reviewed my staff's progress and opinions of their work life. I made up a questionnaire and handed them out. Everyone had a special Tailor-made questionnaire. Hell, that was fun to make. Typically, they weren't impressed at the addition to the paperwork but when they realised it was their chance to shine they were slightly more enthusiastic. Owen in particular seemed to be quite enjoying the task. Here's what he wrote:

**_Q. What do you think of your current working conditions?_**

_**A. **Um. Well, it's not bad but I think the boss could give us less paper work. I always feel we're given so much unnecessary work to do and basically I feel stressed and over worked. Deal with it Harkness. Now. Or I'm going on strike - which brings me to another point: pay rise? Please note the subtle hint. Oh, and maybe just once I could be allowed a lie in some weekends? Maybe? Is that too much to ask?_

_**Q. How do you feel your relationship with your colleauges is?**_

_**A. **Meh. They're alright. _

**_Q. What do you aim for in the future?_**

_**A. **To get by every day without getting my head ripped off by a Weevil. Or embarrassing photos of me plastered all over the Hub. Take. Them. Down._

**_Q. Do you really think you should be completing this questionaire instead of catching up with previous paper work?_**

_**A. **TRICK QUESTION! NOT FAIR. _

**_Q. Are you going to go back to doing the paper work your boss has been waiting for?_**

_**A. **..._


	5. Friday 5th December

**Author's Note: Again, sorry I couldn't update. I've been far too busy with school work and concerts. I'm so tired and I'm trying to update when I can. And by the way, the teenage girl mentioned in this chapter is based around me... I was actually so high in the shop yesterday for some reason and then wrote this chapter up in my notebook on the way home. **

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_**Friday 5th December**_

The shops are always the first to show their Christmas stuff; they've always got tinsel hanging from the walls long before most people and they have stacks of Christmas gifts that have been their since Easter. Thing is though, it actually feels right now. I mean, it doesn't look so strange to be having a great big inflatable snowman standing beside a bucket of "Christmas" sweets.

I went to the supermarket with Yan today to buy some beer and stuff to stock the Hub up for cold days. Seriously though, I've never seen so many kids looking _happy _to be in the shop. We saw young children running about asking their parents if Santa wound bring this or that and babbling on about their Santa lists. It was really cute!

There were even teenagers looking delighted by the Christmas-y feel of the shop. There was a girl of about fourteen literally bouncing around in her search for the items on a shopping list. I've seriously never seen someone so fascinated with a tub of edible Christmas cake decorations. Even parents was slight less strict with kids at this time of year. I saw a lot of tired but happy smiles and you could tell they were struggling to think of an argument to stop their kids babbling on about yellow Teletubbies.

It reminds me a lot of the days when I was a kid. This time of year always seems so magical but from a child's prospective it's positively dazzling. Back where I lived as a kid, we used to have huge big parties for Christmas and nearly everyone was there. Hell I loved that. I always looked forward to the day of the party. When you grow up you do kind of miss the incredible happiness that came with seeing a simple Christmas decoration.

It's very different here in Cardiff though. It's still wonderful but I guess the place you love most would always be home, huh?


	6. Saturday 6th December

**Author's Note: Because it's the weekend and I don't have to do anything today, I'm managing to catch up with my writing. Yay! And just so you know, I have no idea what happens in Cardiff at Christmas - I live in Scotland and have only been to Wales once and I was nowhere near Cardiff. _

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_Saturday 6th December _

They were turning on the Christmas lights in Cardiff today so, of course, I took the team to watch – mainly because there's always a really awesome firework display.

We met up in the city centre at about five o' clock and went to get a burger and a hot drink from the food stall. Gwen took her boyfriend Rhys and I can't say I don't like him. Sure he's a bit simple but he does know how to have a laugh and that's important if you're hanging around with us.

I love fireworks. I especially love public firework shows because they're always so much better than the ones you make in you back garden. There's a good atmosphere too. There's just something nice about standing going "Ooo… Ah!" with a crowd of strangers you've never met in your life before but knowing you're all here for the same reason.

I did get a bit of a surprise when some random little boy attached himself to my leg and started calling me "Dad". That was confusing and Owen had a bit of a field day over it.

"Aw, Jack! Don't worry, you're secrets safe with us! Seriously though, I can't believe you didn't tell us you had a kid!" he sniggered and I just rolled my eyes. Let him have his fun. He'd get bored eventually. He just says things like that for the reaction.

But _then _the kid wouldn't stop following me. I asked him where his parents were and if he was lost and everything but he wouldn't say anything. He just kept on clinging. And to make it worse, some woman came over to us screaming that I was abducting her son. Was I hell? Her son was abducting me! I told her so and she just slapped me. Hard. I was actually standing there feeling quite dazed and a bit lost when she did that.

The situation did get slightly better when Owen started laughing at me and got slapped too. Serves him right.


	7. Sunday 7th December

**Author's Note: This chapter is also based on happenings where I am. I hate the buses.

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Sunday 7

**th**** December**

You'll never believe it in a million years. Hell, I barely believe it. The Torchwood SUV has broken down! I'm absolutely horrified because the damn thing was working fine yesterday and now it won't start.

We had to rush out to some case where the police had reported a suspicious burglary at a local shop after having to drag the team away from their weekend. After arriving at the Hub, we all jumped in to our trusty SUV and could we get the engine to start? Like hell we couldn't. _Then _we had to take the bus. We're a secret organisation and we had to wait in the freezing cold winter streets for a _bus. _We were carrying heavy boxes of equipment and stuff so we got stared at. Not that I mind being stared at but it was a bit irritating today because we were in a hurry.

And then, of course the bus was late. And after that some old lady decided she'd have a conversation with the driver and we were another ten minutes before we actually got anywhere.

I'm fairly patient but Owen on the other hand has a pretty low boredom threshold. He was fidgeting and grumping within minutes. Gwen looked on the verge of slapping him and Ianto was just staring out of the window with a scowl. Toshiko turned on her laptop and tried to pinpoint exactly what it was we were going to do. Then she tried to explain the situation of the rift in relation to the location of the crime and her techno-babble got us very strange looks from our fellow passengers.

And to make it worse again, we got stuck in a traffic jam. By this point I was about to jump out of the bus and go by foot. I would have done if it hadn't been so cold outside and so far to walk.

It wasn't even worth it in the end. When we got to the scene of the crime the police had decided there was nothing suspicious at all and it had been a misjudgement on their part. We had a quick look around and they were right; there was nothing to see. Damn police. Guess who isn't gonna be on my Christmas card list…


	8. Monday 8th December

_**Monday 8th December**_

_Hell, we nearly had to make a hospital run today – even though the SUV is still stuck in the garage being repaired. . It came as something of a shock actually. I really wasn't expecting it. So, to begin with it was so cold today and the Hub heating systems are mucking around with us and Ianto's been desperately trying to fix them all day. _

_ I was heading down to the Medical Bay to continue my mission in keeping up staff morale and found Owen sprawled on the floor completely unconscious. It was quite random and to start with I thought he was just mucking around so I laughed at him. Then Tosh appeared by my side looking horrified and close to tears. Woops. _

_I knelt down beside Owen and prodded him hard in the back. He didn't move. That would have sounded so much better if I'd said he leapt up and was perfectly fine thanks to my magic touch but no. He's Owen and he's got to be awkward. He just lay there. Unresponsive. Typical, huh? _

_It really sucks when it's your doctor_ _that's knocked himself out. Still, I think I made a pretty good nurse if I may say so myself. I checked his breathing and all that stuff and then put him to bed. Then it was a waiting game and, to be honest, I got a bit bored of that. He just didn't seem to want to wake up – typical Owen Harper._

_When Owen eventually woke up, he told us what had happened in between being violently sick and passing out again. Poor Owen. Concussion. It turned out Tosh had been trying to put up Christmas decorations along the side of the stairs but hadn't quite finished. She hadn't warned poor Owen and he'd fallen victim to the tinsel lying halfway down said stairs. When you think about it like that it is actually quite hard not to laugh.  
_


	9. Tuesday 9th December

**_December 9th _**

After yesterday's little accident, all the Christmas decorations are now safely on the walls where they should be. I didn't let Owen come to work today. I made sure he stayed at home in his bed and I sent someone along to check he was alright every twice today… by bus. The SUV is still in the garage and it's driving me insane. But anyway, back to Owen. Tosh seemed pretty keen to go around and do the Owen-check and I thought it was quite cute to be honest.

Anyway, I can't blame Owen for insisting I gave him a Christmas bonus because, according to him, I hadn't checked the safety of the workplace. And if I were him, I'd have done exactly the same thing. That was a pretty spectacular bruise on his head. I phoned him up every now and again just to make sure he was alright and to check if he wanted someone to come round and look after him. It really annoyed him. I could hear the disappointment every time he picked up the phone and found it was me. How's that for appreciation.

And about the SUV – I've been told it'll cost a fortune to repair and I can deal with that. What I can't deal with however, is the fact that we have to walk everywhere until they're finished fixing our car. It's one of the most annoying things in the world and I feel so useless. Ianto fell on the ice on the way into the Hub today. I think we should all just camp here until the winter's over. Hell, that would be fun! I might suggest that later on...


	10. Wednesday 10th December

**_Wednesday 10th December_**

Finally! We got the SUV back today! I'm so happy! I mean, its taken forever and I spent the last couple of the days feeling like I'd lost my left arm! I'm glad we got it back even though it cost a fortune to pay the bill – typical, huh? Owen was delighted anyway. He can be a bit of a speed freak at times. Not that I can't but I wasn't feeling as absolutely useless as he was while the SUV was away being fixed. First thing he did was take her out for a spin as soon as she got back to the Hub.

Anyway, today I thought I'd take Ianto to see a pantomime. It was good fun – _Alladin _it was. We had awesome seats and it was generally a good laugh. The cast weren't bad to look at either. We were booing and hissing along with everyone else. Hell, we were louder than half the kids there. One little girl even turned around in her chair to look at me and said, "Wow, you really know how to boo a bad guy!" I thought that was pretty funny. I even got a flag to wave. Simple pleasures.

Afterwards we went to grab a Chinese dinner… that kinda got forgotten about when we got back to Ianto's house for one reason or another. Nudge nudge. All in all, it was a good night though. Especially when - Ah. Maybe you don't want to know the details.


	11. Thursday 11th December

**Author's Note: Okay, so I've fallen behind a bit... Sorry! I'll catch up with the last few chapters soon. Enjoy! Oh, and if there's anything in particular you'd like to happen in the story, please just ask.

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Thursday 11th December

Well, you can always tell when the aliens aren't invading Cardiff. Why? Because the paperwork actually gets done. I got Ianto's questionnaire back today. It was a good read. Remember how I said I'd personalised them for each person…?

**_Q. How do you feel about your working conditions at present?_**

_**A. **I think the Hub could do with a little bit of brightening up but in general it's good – it gives people the sort of impression that we're not to be messed with. They would be right, wouldn't they? Very scary. _

_**Q. Do you think you have a good relationship with your boss?**_

_**A. **Um. I think you know that, Jack. You don't need to ask. Especially after last night…_

_**Q. How do you feel about your fellow colleagues?**_

_**A. **You want me to answer honestly? Well. In that case, can I give Owen a good smack? But yeah, they're generally a cool bunch to work with._

_**Q. What do you think you could improve on?**_

_**A. **Erm. Nah, I'm pretty much perfect. Isn't that what you said last night?_

_**Q. You free tonight?**_

_**A. **Half seven. Your office._


	12. Friday 12th December

**Author's Note: Sorry, I've not been feeling well so updates have been short. I only just went back on the computer last night. :( Anyway, I'm feeling better now. And I want to say, from now on these chapters will all have dedications. **

**Dedication: Merry Christmas Lady Clark!**

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**Friday 12th December**

"Jack!" Ianto cried as he hurried through to my office. I looked up from the mountain of paperwork I was tackling and grinned. It's always great to have Ianto running into my office. When I asked him what he wanted I immediately wished I hadn't. Now I know about it, it has to be dealt with.

Thing is, we're a little short of cash. Ianto showed me our expenditure list and to put it nicely, when I find the person who buys _Lord of The Rings _DVDs with the Torchwood account… I'm gonna hurt them. Run for the hills Owen Harper. But a couple of DVDs aren't going to put us in debt that much are they? I looked over the rest of the expenditure list and then realised we'd been spending way too much on upgrades and new hardware. Tosh, you better run too…

_Then _I realised someone had miscalculated the last coffee order. Why the hell do we need four hundred and seven jars of industrial strength coffee? The horrible thing is, I think it was me that put through that order. But the team don't need to know that, do they? And anyway, I have a solution so that should mean I'm off the hook.

You want to hear my plan don't you? Of course you do! We're going to have a Torchwood carol-singing-coffee-evening. That'll work! We're going to sing Christmas carols on the Bay while selling excess coffee to people. Now I just need to convince the team it's a good idea.


	13. Saturday 13th December

**Author's Note: Wow! Twice in one day!**

**Dedication: Merry Christmas Zebbie! **

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**Saturday 13th December**

We all met up in the evening today to go to out bowling and to the Pub for the staff night out. The bowling was good fun. I won – because of course, I'm brilliant. I didn't win by much though, Gwen was a close second and Owen third. I think he got too used to playing bowling on the Nintendo Wii to get the hang of it in real life. Ha ha.

We had a laugh at the pub too. Owen paid for the drinks because he lost the bet he'd had with Ianto a while back. Remember the one that involved them singing on tables? Yeah. It's hard to forget that. The pictures are still up on the walls in the Hub. It's great even if Owen thinks it's a bit annoying – but do I really care? Honestly?

I thought I'd suggest the Torchwood carol-singing-coffee-evening once they were all pretty drunk and more likely to agree to things like that. I'm glad I chose to do that. I even got them to sign a contract which means they'll _have _to do it. They can't argue about it either because they signed it. So, I bought in a round of drinks and then we had a little game of something or other. All I can remember is it succeeded in getting everyone drunk and giggly. It was pretty funny. I tried my best to pace myself until I'd got them to sign my carol singing deal. Success!

And then, of course, I got caught up with them where alcohol was concerned. That wasn't actually my fault though. Owen thought it would be a good laugh to see how much alcohol I could drink in two minutes. The result? A heck of a lot.


	14. Sunday 14th December

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

**Dedication: Merry Christmas Vicky!**

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**Sunday 14th**

I went Christmas present shopping today in the city. I needed to get something for the team so I took the SUV into the main shopping centre. There was a nice book about electromagnetic science stuff that included a kit to build something or other that I bought for Toshiko. That's the sort of thing she's into.

For Gwen I got a cute photo album. She looks like the sort of person who would keep albums of photos. I can see her doing that, personally. And Rhys too. I reckon he's the sort of guy to get all sentimental about photos.

I got Owen a gift card for his iPod. He'll like that. It might shut him up for a bit in the Hub too. He was complaining the other day he was sick of the music on his iPod. Guess it's time for some new stuff then.

I found this of aftershave that would be _great _on Ianto. Situation went a bit like this:

Woman: Hello, can I help you?

Me: Er. Yeah. I'm looking for aftershave…

Woman: I can see that. For whom, may I ask?

Me: My boyfriend.

Woman: [Face registers major disappointment] Oh. Right. Well, what do you have in mind?

Me: Um. This? [Holds up bottle]

And then of all things, who should turn up but one Ianto Jones! He was over the other side of the shop.

Ianto: Jack!

Me: Ianto! Fancy meeting you here! [Promptly hides aftershave in consideration]

Ianto: Shopping?

Me: Yup.

Ianto: Me too. We'll, I best be off. Presents to be bought.

And then he was gone. With a wink, I might add. That's not like Ianto but it was nice. The sales woman spent the next thirty seconds impatiently trying to bring me back to Earth.


	15. Monday 15th December

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone! You're all making this story so much more fun to write!**

**Dedication: Merry Christmas Keepress!**

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**Monday 15th**

Back in work today I told the gang about my plans for the carol-singing-coffee-evening. They weren't impressed. Even less so when I showed them the document they'd all signed when they were drunk on Saturday. Owen snarled at me and told me I took advantage of the situation. I then reminded him he'd announced he'd do lead vocals. At that, he hit me. I was a bit pissed off at that but still. He's got no choice but to take part now. Poor Owen. Not. It'll teach him not to spend Torchwood funds on DVDs. Silly boy.

So yeah, we started making the plans for the day. It was good fun. Tosh and Yan were all up for it. Gwen just approached it with some sort of resigned acceptance. Owen just sulked.

So, I sent Gwen off to make posters on the lowest possible budget. Tosh went to search out some sound equipment as she's good at all that technology sort of stuff. Ianto was organising all the coffee sort of things. You now, like counting plastic cups and things. Owen sulked. I laughed at him.

Then I decided we were going to have a little sing through of some basic Christmas Carols. The result? We were actually pretty good if I may say so myself! I was very proud of everyone. Except Owen. He just stood about and sulked. Until Ianto sprayed him with a water pistol. Hell knows where the water pistol came from though.

It's seventy-five pence for coffee and donations for watching the entertainment are kindly welcome. The shows on Wednesday at six. Early donations are kindly received. The collection bucket's by the door. Hint hint.


	16. Tuesday 16th December

**Dedication: Merry Christmas JosieRuby!**

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**Tuesday 16th**

Today was a bit odd to be honest. An alien who seemed to feed off of Christmas happiness attacked us. It was really weird. It was kinda like a ghost or something. I just suddenly appeared in the Hub and tried to eat me because, apparently, I held most festive joy. Just because _I_ was bouncing around practising for our carol-singing-coffee-evening.

Okay, so to surmise, an alien was eating me. Got that? Yeah. The rest of the team sort of gathered around and demanded the thing let me go. I could feel it trying to gnaw into my throat. I kinda tickled. Partly because it didn't actually have much existence. Like I said, it pretty much seemed like a ghost sort of creature.

"Get it off him!" Ianto said in panic. He's so, so hot when he's worried about me. I smiled then and everyone got really confused. The alien thing was beginning to get more than a little annoyed and lunged at Gwen in all it's ghostly glory. I jumped to my feet and ran round to my desk and rummaged around in my drawer for whatever I could find. I eventually found something that felt like a spray can and wrenched it out and pressed the button down.

Well, let's just say the dissolved with a sparkly "puff!". It was quite comical really and we all just broke down into hysterical laughter. Owen's only question was "Why the hell does Jack keep glitter hair spray in his desk?" The answer? In case of emergencies.


	17. Wednesday 17th December

**Dedication: Merry Christmas Deannie!**

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**Wednesday 17th**

So, you're probably all wondering how the carol-singing-coffee-evening went…? Well, it seriously was one of the best evenings of my life. We had such a laugh. Even Owen did I think. I had a great time!

We set up a little table by the Bay with our coffee machine and lots of paper cups and stood behind it armed with a microphone and a song sheet.

The first few people that passed sort of just looked at us with a weary smile like "What the hell are they doing? Bless 'em." How nice, huh? They didn't even buy coffee or put anything in our buckets!

Then Ianto had the amazing idea of running off to the corner shop and buying numerous pairs of reindeer antlers. It was very funny. So there we were, dressed as reindeer and singing _Little Town of Bethlehem. _Some little kids found us interesting. They were all coming over to us and laughing. Then of course, if you have a kid, the parent will follow. Come to us parents! We have coffee! And Ianto Jones to serve it! I mean, if that's not going to have them running in, I don't know what will. And we raised a lot of money too! And spread the Christmas cheer to everyone! Ho ho ho, merry Christmas!


	18. Christmas Eve Special!

**Author's Note: So it's Christmas Eve (UK Time) and I want to give my readers something special that will also mean I've been able to finish the Advent Challenge properly in the time limit. Wouldn't it be tragic if I failed a challenge I set myself? Well anyway, I wrote this. This is the last seven days of _Jack's Diary _and so concludes our tale of concussion, carol singing and Christmas. Thank your for reading and reviewing and just making me happy. Merry Christmas to everyone and especially the girls over on the RRA. Monday the 22nd is for ****x-Athenea-x****.** **Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope 2009 brings good things for all of you!**

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**Thursday 18th **

Yesterday we did really, really well. It was really relieving to realise that we made enough money to at least sort out some of our money problem. That's a comforting thought. Owen seems a little more relaxed now he knows we won't stop having coffee at work but he is miffed that I decided to put a charge on it. It won't be for long and to be honest, we kinda need the money. Anyway, he can't complain. He shouldn't have been buying DVDs with Torchwood funds. Bah humbug.

We were actually in the morning paper. Ianto brought it to me and showed me. Someone had taken a picture of us in our reindeer antlers and sent it into the paper. It's not a bad picture either. I look really good! We should stick it on the wall of the Hub. How lovely to end up in the paper! That really made my day. Owen was a bit annoyed (shock, really) because he looked silly in antlers. Shame. Not.

**Friday 19th **

The schools broke up today. There were lots of wild parties going on all day. We saw loads of kids running around screaming happily and it just made me smile. They're all looking forward to opening their presents and being with their family and everything. I dunno how they're going to survive the next six days or so in that excited state. I'm guessing it'll only get worse.

Anyway, we had to go out just before we were planning to go home because some man got murdered suspiciously in a bar at a work party. Honestly, why would an alien attack a drunk man wearing a Santa costume and dancing on tables? I just don't get it. He wasn't even that attractive! Urgh. Oh well, I had to sort it all out anyway. Which was a bit annoying really because I couldn't be bothered. Dunno why but I feel really lazy today.

But I did my job and researched why the man was dead. It turned out the alien hadn't actually done anything to the man. He'd died of fright. Almost. He'd got a fright, fell off the table he was dancing on and then hit his head on a table. All because of an "alien". That "alien" I might add, was only his mate dressed up as an alien. Seriously, you'd think it was Halloween, not Christmas!

**Saturday 20th **

Because it's the last weekend before Christmas, it's very busy in town now. I went out for a look about town and I nearly got mobbed. It is actually that busy. When I got back to the Hub I checked through my in-tray and found Tosh had filled in her staff questionnaire. I got something to do for a while by reading that.

**_Q. Do you enjoy working for Torchwood?_**

**_A. _**_As much as running from aliens every other day can get. Yeah, I can't imagine my job being anything different to what it is here. I don't think I'd want to work anywhere else._

**_Q. Do you want to change anything about your job?_**

**_A. _**_I don't know. Not really. Maybe more set holidays but I can understand why we don't always stick to set days off. Like you said once, aliens don't attack on a rota. Maybe a couple more pounds wouldn't go a amiss but that's nothing big really. I don't mind if we don't get that._

**_Q. What do you think of your teammates?_**

**_A. _**_Yeah, I get on well with all of them most of the time. Ianto makes great coffee. Gwen's a laugh and Owen? Owen's just… Owen's just Owen. And the boss? Well, we all know what he's like._

**_Q. What do you aim for in the future?_**

**_A. _**_Understanding alien life more. It's fascinating!_

**_Q. Do you think Gwen ever will hand in her questionnaire?_**

**_A. _**_No. _

Sunday 21st

Oh no, oh no, oh no. That's all I thought all morning. It honestly was. Why? Well, because I got a worried phone call from Ianto saying his Mum and Dad wanted to meet me! His _parents _wanted to meet me! I don't do "meeting the parents"! Not really anyway. But I guess I had to. They wanted to meet the "man who made their little boy so happy". That made me smile though.

So okay, I had a little panic to myself. What should I wear? The answer to that question was the same as what I usually wear. That's what Ianto said I should do. Yes, I did phone Ianto to see what he thought. I get nervous meeting people's parents. There was no doubt they'd like me – everyone does – but still, I'm allowed to feel nervous. I actually felt like I was seventeen again and meeting my teenage love's parents.

In the end, it was a nice night. Mr and Mrs Jones were great people and made me feel really welcome. They seemed genuinely pleased that I was together with their son – almost as pleased as I am. Mr Jones was very much like "Back in my day…" sort of thing. We had an odd assortment of stories from him including something about a holiday in Germany. But there were even odder stories from Mrs Jones… Mostly revolving around Ianto jumping off of swings naked in the park as a toddler. Heh.

**Monday 22nd**

The team had to come in and work today. Shame really but it meant I had company, which was cool. I decided to have a bit of fun today. I set up mistletoe in doorway of my office. Then I summoned them all in to have a little staff appraisal sort of thing. And my poor unsuspecting victims would wander in and I'd pounce on them from behind the door, announcing joyously that there was part of a plant hanging above them. Lovely.

Scared Tosh senseless and she screamed. Oops. I did get a good kiss though, if a bit quick. She blushed as I let go of her. Poor Tosh.

Owen snogged me for a good thirty seconds before punching me. Charming, huh? At least now I know he at least wants it. Heh.

Gwen acted with typical policewoman's instinct and kneed me in the groin out of sheer panic. Maybe next year I might not jump out from behind the door at them. I keep getting hurt.

They'd obviously been moaning to each other about it because Ianto knew exactly what to expect that afternoon. It was a surprise actually. He walked randomly into the room without knocking and came straight over to me at the desk and pulled the mistletoe out from behind his back. And kissed me. Wow…

**Tuesday 23rd **

It snowed! It actually snowed today! We had a snowball fight outside the tourist office. I started it. I just thought it would be some light-hearted banter to get the team into a Christmas spirit. It was great fun. I think they're sick of me hiding behind doors though.

I went outside and made a huge big heap of snowballs. Then I rang the doorbell on the tourist office and waited. Then Ianto opened the door with that oh-so-lovely smile of his and unfortunately, I had to throw snow at him. I got his suit all wet. My bad. To be honest, I did kind of expect him to be angry about me getting him wet but he just sort of narrowed his eyes and ran after me down the street. He stopped and scooped up handfuls of snow and carried on chasing me. Then he had me up against a wall and stuffed it all down the back of my jacket. That meant war. And a war, we had. It really was pretty dramatic. It'd have been a good film.

**Wednesday 24th **

Christmas Eve… It's gone so fast. Not that long ago it was the first of December and now it's the day before Christmas. It's a strange thought. It's kinda sad though. The team left not that long ago and now I'm sitting at my desk all on my own. I don't really want to be on my own for Christmas but I guess I don't have much of a choice. The team were all pretty excited to be getting out of the Hub for a while and I can't blame them. I'd be the same if I were them.

Hey, I can here the door opening. Dammit, please don't say we've got a break in on Christmas Eve! That's not even fair! I'll go see who it is in a minute. Oh, I can hear their footsteps now…

"Jack?" comes the voice.

"Ianto!" I announce happily and jump to my feet. Now, dear diary, I have more important business to attend to!


End file.
